Voters Bullied In East Timor

May 16, 1999|By KEITH B. RICHBURG The Washington Post

All that changed this year, when President B.J. Habibie, who took power last May after the fall of longtime ruler Suharto, suddenly announced that Timorese could have independence if they rejected one last, broadened autonomy offer.

But while the civilian government in Jakarta was eager to rid itself of the East Timor problem, the Indonesian military apparently has other concerns. Senior military officers are known to fear that granting the territory independence will fuel separatist movements across the sprawling archipelago, particularly in the mineral-rich province of Irian Jaya, and in the troubled, Muslim fundamentalist-dominated province of Aceh on Sumatra island. Troops have been fighting insurgencies in both those provinces, and the rebels have been emboldened by the government's concessions to the Timorese. "It's national unity, and fear of national disintegration," said a Western military analyst.

The armed forces created the militias ostensibly to help keep the peace. But Timorese activists, human-lawyers, and Western military analysts point to a more sinister purpose -- to use them to create the appearance of a civil war in East Timor, while embarking on a campaign to terrorize and intimidate enough people to ensure a vote against independence.

In recent weeks, the militias have rampaged unchecked in East Timor, killing and maiming suspected independence supporters and sympathizers. "Ever since [Secretary of State] Madeleine Albright came [in March], it's been terrible," said Murphy, the American physician. "Since then, they've decided to take a hard line, and bring out all the weapons of terror and intimidation."